Chapter Twenty-Three:
Realm Zone – 1992
The Sultan was so thrilled by Jafar’s new “bride” that he
canceled any plans he had for arranging a meeting for a suitor with Jasmine
(Ciciley) and dedicated the rest of the day to celebrating and getting to know
Dawn. The woman who Ciciley personally knew as Joanie Navarro was sharing
dinner with her, Jafar, and the Sultan, sitting on the floor around a table
decorated with the finest Arabian tableware. Ciciley was in no mood to eat
anything in front of her; she was squarely focused on Dawn, trying to figure
out what had become of her mother. Was it an effect of the unusual mishap that
occurred with Bunsen’s machine – similar to what happened with her?
“Jasmine, is there anything wrong, my dear?” The Sultan
questioned.
Ciciley snapped out of her focus and looked to the
Sultan, appearing slightly off-course. “I-I’m sorry?”
“You haven’t touched your dinner since we’ve sat down.”
Ciciley looked down upon the meal – a piece of roasted
pork with a few chopped vegetables – made with the greatest delicacy she had
ever seen (only the best for royalty). She smiled and picked up her fork,
poking into one of the vegetables. “I’m fine, Father. I was just…admiring
Jafar’s new bride.”
Jafar grinned with wicked satisfaction. “Yes, she is
rather wond…”
He stopped as soon as he turned to Dawn and noticed what
everyone else suddenly noticed along with him: Dawn brushing her hair with her fork. It was the most peculiar
thing Jafar and the Sultan had ever seen; Ciciley, on the other hand, had seen
it done before by Ariel in The Little
Mermaid. Not only was Joanie taking on an entirely different persona, but
she was mimicking actions done by another Disney character. Ciciley could not
help but to be a little amused, yet she maintained caution to stay focused on
whatever was happening.
(Narrative Note: Since it was established in this story, Joanie has not displayed very many other characteristics of Ariel in subsequent World of Disney stories, due to the role switch between the characters.)
After giving her hair a good brush with the fork, Dawn
cleaned the strands of red hair off of it and used the utensil to eat her
dinner next. Jafar was bemused and disgusted by the bizarre action. Clearing
his throat and trying to regain constitution, he continued, “Yes, she is
rather…wonderful.”
Ciciley figured it was time to finally get to the bottom
of the mystery. She asked Dawn, “So…how long have you and Jafar known each
other?”
“We are soul mates, Princess Jasmine.” Dawn remarked. “From
our perspective, Jafar and I have known each other for centuries. You might
call it…reincarnation.”
(Authorial Note: Although unintentional at the time, this line by Dawn set the stage for the rest of the World of Disney series with the overarching plot of reincarnation between her character and Sean Thomas's. By the time he wrote The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2, Livingston was intent on focusing the subsequent stories on the idea of the two main protagonists of the series being portrayed as completely different characters - a la Doctor Who. As of today, the theme has continued as a major plot point of the series.)
Her words sounded incredibly symbolic to Ciciley, as if
Joanie somewhat knew what had happened to her. Ciciley hoped that she did, or
her solution to this problem would be met with much difficulty. “Well, I’m
certainly happy for you two.” Her
words were forced with mocked delight; she had to sell the moment long enough
to throw Jafar and the Sultan off. As far as Ciciley was concerned, no other
characters within that realm had anything to do with the matter.
“So when shall the wedding be, Jafar? I-I mean, that is
to say, shall I prepare a ceremony for the people of Agrabah to attend?”
Sultan suggested, sounding very giddy and nervous all at once.
“There is no need, Your Majesty.” Jafar rejected. “Dawn
and I shall hold a private ceremony in your throne room…tomorrow!”
Ciciley was taking a sip from her cup at the moment the
sudden proclamation was made, and she choked on the red liquid, coughing loudly
before everyone. Greatly concerned, the Sultan looked to her and asked,
“Jasmine, are you all right?”
Gasping for air, Ciciley answered in a low voice,
“Fine…Father.”
A loud boom sounded from outside the palace, and everyone
turned to the nearby window to see dark clouds emerging from the horizon,
lightning streaking out from them. “Oh, dear,” the Sultan uttered, “there is
quite a storm on the approach.”
Dawn’s bright blue eyes focused hard on the stormy clouds
as she quietly added, “And someone’s coming with it.”
“What was that, my bride?” Jafar curiously asked.
She looked away from the window and to Jafar with zero
emotion showing on her face. “Nothing, my love. Nothing at all.” Even Jafar was
slightly struck cold from the emotionless stare she was giving him. For a brief
moment, he began to have doubts about this young woman he found in the desert,
brought to the palace with him, and committed to showing her the dark arts of
sorcery. Once a girl who had no memory of herself, she was suddenly finding a personality
all on her own.
(Authorial Note: The idea of Dawn being more evil than Jafar felt as a necessity for Livingston to establish the real threat both she and Joanie possess in these newfound powers of hers.)
Ciciley observed the exchange between Jafar and Dawn; she
knew something was up, especially from the weird statement that Dawn muttered. Who was coming with the storm?
--------------------------------
The fierce storm loomed over the desert regions outside of
Agrabah. Intense winds blew through the area, kicking up large portions of
sand. Lightning streaked across the sky, emitting brief flashes of light over
the dim atmosphere. Any close observers would see that it was no regular storm;
it was more intense. Certain bolts of lightning were close to the ground,
striking bits of sand.
Finally, one giant bolt of lightning hit one particular
dune, creating an eruption of sand. However, sand was not the only thing that
erupted from the impact; human and Muppet bodies soared as well. Kermit,
Scooter, Gonzo, Fozzie, Robin, Bobo, and Bean arrived at the scene with Joie
and Jasmine, all of them wearing hooded Arabian cloaks. One other was added to
the fray as well, and that was Sean, wearing his own cloak. Everyone was
scattered not very far from each other over the sandy plain.
(Narrative Note: The "dimension-storm" has become a huge plot device in the World of Disney series, depicted as a warning sign of too much interference in the Disney realm by real world subjects or, in other cases, interference by a Disney character from one world to another. With the arrival of these ten characters, their presence has overwhelmed the fabric of reality for the Aladdin realm.)
Joie was the first one to get to her feet, but it was
quite a chore in doing so. She felt dizzy and her vision was slightly hazy.
Once things started to come in focus, Joie looked across the plain to see Sean
get to his own feet; a huge smile suddenly grew on her face upon seeing him.
“Bro!” she exclaimed, running directly to him. Taking him by total surprise,
she tackled him back to the sand and practically squeezed the life out of him.
“I oughta kill you for makin’ Gina
and me worry so bad about you!”
Sean fought to get air back into his lungs.
“You’re…doing…a good job…of that…already!!”
Joie let go of him and looked into his eyes;
unfortunately, that was when the smile faded from her face and a heavy frown
emerged. “You ain’t my lil’ bro!”
“Really…what gave it away?” Sean asked, albeit with a
hint of sarcasm.
“You have brown eyes; he
has one blue and one green.” Joie gazed upon Sean with confusion and slight
interest. “Who are you, man?”
(Factual Note: Heterochromia iridum is the difference in coloration between eyes. There are two forms: complete - one iris is a different color from the other, and partial or sectoral - part of the iris is another color from the rest.)
“My name’s Sean…or, to you, ‘Sean of Earth Prime’.”
“Yeah, I’ll stick wit just ‘Sean,’ thank you.”
(Narrative Note: "Earth Prime" is a term sometimes used in science fiction with plots involving parallel universes or a multiverse and refers either to the universe containing "our" Earth or a parallel world with a bare minimum of divergence points from the Earth we know. Although Sean Thomas refers to himself as "Sean of Earth Prime," he is not in actuality of a prime universe, as it is not a true representation of our Earth.)
As the two of them got to their feet, Sean shook his head
in disbelief and uttered, “Man! How many of you are there?”
“Huh?!” Joie exclaimed.
Before Sean had a chance to explain, he and Joie heard
the others moaning as they sat up. The first person Sean noticed in the group
was Ciciley (Jasmine). He ran to her as she got up and asked, “Sis! Cici! Are
you okay?”
“Cici?!” She said, looking up at him. “My name is
Jasmine. But I am okay, just…a bit stunned.”
Sean stared at her, looking completely baffled, until
Joie cleared things up for him. “Uh, yeah. She’s been flipped by this radiation
or somethin’ from that lil’ lemon-headed dude’s machine. She thinks she’s
Princess Jasmine.”
(Authorial Note: This is the first instance in which one of the Baton Rogue sisters refer to Bunsen Honeydew as "lemon head," even though the Muppet's head is more lime than lemon. It is a running joke that Livingston first introduced during his "Marvelous Muppets" series with Pepe the King Prawn being the one that always poked fun at Bunsen's head shape, mostly in reference to the "Lemonhead" brand candy, which Bunsen somewhat resembles the mascot to.)
“Oh, boy.” Sean lowered and shook his head in distraught.
“The same thing happened to my mother, who is the reason I’m here right now.”
“You mean Joanie thinks she’s a Disney character, too?”
Robin inquired, listening in on the exchange from a couple of feet away while
being checked upon by his uncle.
Sean nodded. “At least she did before being sent here.
According to Brandy, she’s lost at least seventy-eight of her brainwaves, which
can only mean she has partial amnesia.”
“Who’s Brandy?” Bean asked.
“Yeah, and what does ‘amnesia’ mean?” Bobo added.
Seeing the two Muppet characters, Sean reacted in great
displeasure. “What’re you two doing
here?! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to even be in this place?!”
“Well…Pepe did
try to tell us that.” Bean sheepishly said.
“And you didn’t listen to him?”
Bobo and Bean responded to that question with bizarre
expressions, which led Sean to rethink whom he was talking about.
“Oh, yeah. Right.”
“Well, we’re all here anyway,” Scooter indicated, “so we
might as well just stick together as much as we can.” He then stared up to the
stormy skies and added, “We’ll definitely need to, if we’re gonna escape this
horrible storm.”
The others looked upward as well, seeing the storm that
appeared somewhat unnatural. Sean looked back down to ground level and saw the
endless miles of dunes surrounding them. “There’s no way we’ll be able to find
Agrabah in the middle of all this.”
“I’ve traveled these deserts with my father in our royal
caravan many times in the past.” Jasmine revealed. “I know exactly how to get us there. Follow me.”
The group did as the princess requested and followed her
lead. As they had done so, Joie grinned and muttered, “Glad we brought her
along after all.”
--------------------------------
With Jasmine leading the entire way, the group arrived in
Agrabah a lot sooner than anticipated. Upon their arrival, Sean urged the
Muppets to cover their faces with the cloth from their cloaks to avoid unwanted
attention from Agrabah residents. However, as they walked down one of the many
streets within the enchanted city, hardly many citizens filled it. All of the
residents were taking shelter from the approaching storm, which was the
strongest one they had ever seen. Some of the residents, who were considered to
be part of a lower class (known as “street rats”), were not able to take proper
shelter; instead, they hid in the nearest secluded alley, bundling together to
stay warm.
(Narrative Note: Next to the one for Beauty and the Beast, the world of Aladdin is one that suffers the most dramatic shift in change with the conflicting events in this part of the story, due mostly to characters from the film being transported between worlds. It is the first example we see of the repercussions from tampering with the delicate balance that exists between the Disneyverse and the Muppets' world.)
Jasmine looked on at the families – many of them large in
size – forced to be on the street during the fierce storm; she felt like crying
at the dismal sight of them. “This is horrible. These people shouldn’t have to
be outdoors in this.”
“Those poor children.” Bean observed along with the
princess. “Pepe was right, Bobo. This isn’t cute. This isn’t cute at all.”
“We can’t turn back now.” Kermit stated, pointing to the
Sultan’s palace, which towered over all of Agrabah at the edge of the city.
“Joanie’s got to be in there.”
A large boom sounded from the sky, alarming the group.
“Well, let’s move, before this storm gets any worse than
it already is!” Sean suggested, urging the group to move down the street much
quicker than before.
The group rushed down the street, passing through several
residents rushing to their homes to hide from the storm. When they finally
approached the massive double doors of the palace, they were met by the lawful
hands of three palace guards – two standing at opposite ends of it and one at
the center. The center one was the tallest and most muscular, speaking with a
tone of authority while addressing the group. “Halt! No one is allowed in the
palace without permission – especially no street
rats!”
Jasmine stepped forward and addressed the tough guard.
“Captain, you will let us inside.”
The captain guard laughed. “By whose order?”
“By order of me…Princess
Jasmine!”
The guards instantly busted out in laughter, pointing to
Jasmine, whose persona did not appear to show through the form of Ciciley.
(Disney Note: In the Aladdin film, the palace guards initially did not recognize Princess Jasmine in her street attire, treating her like another "street rat," or "street mouse" as she was referred by the Captain, until she removed her hood. This scene flips the situation with Jasmine's true identity hidden completely by Ciciley's face, which she cannot remove to convince them otherwise.)
Joie, seeing no point in trying to convince the guards of the truth, decided to
take matters into her own hands. Moving faster than the naked eye, she charged
at the captain of the guards and pinned his body against one of the doors. With
fierceness in her voice, Joie demanded while face-to-face with the captain
guard, “Let us in or I’ll bust you to
pieces, dude!”
Before she knew it, Joie heard the sound of swords being
unsheathed from left and right. Looking both ways, she noticed that the other
two guards were pointing Arabian swords at her head. The captain guard arrogantly
laughed, pushing Joie away from him and drawing out his own sword. “You’ll
regret threatening me, street rat!”
(Disney Note: The captain guard goes by the name "Razoul" in all the appearances he has made in the Aladdin series and other Disney properties. He is voiced by Jim Cummings, who is known as the voice of other well-known Disney characters such as Winnie the Pooh, Pete, and Darkwing Duck. Razoul has been both antagonist and protagonist in his role through the Aladdin saga, starting off as bad in the eyes of Aladdin, who he believes to be "a power hungry street rat" and has no love for Princess Jasmine, but later turning good when proven wrong on this.)
Scooter shook his head with a groan, telling Joie, “You had to go with the ‘direct approach,’
didn’t you?”
“Hey, it don’t work wit err-body, okay?” Joie remarked.
Before the guards could take action on the group, two
small, red objects flew in from above and hit the two regular guards upon their
heads. Another one soon appeared and struck the captain square in the face,
splattering its contents all over his eyes and blinding him in the process.
Taking advantage of the distraction, the group ran from the guards, moving away from the palace, much to the
chagrin of Robin. “Wait! What about Joanie?!”
“Right now, I’d be much more concerned about us, Robin!!!” Kermit exclaimed.
Not before long, a young, barefoot street urchin wearing
a purple vest, white pants, and a small red fez appeared from the corner of a
nearby alleyway just as the group approached. With him was a small and slender
brown monkey wearing a red vest and hat with red at the top and purple at the
bottom, observing the scene along with his human friend. Once the group was
within earshot, the young man exclaimed, “Hey! Over here!” They stopped in
their tracks and noticed him beckoning for them to follow. “This way!”
The group followed the young street urchin into the
alleyway, which was dim enough to seclude themselves from the pursuing guards.
As soon as they saw them pass by and continue down the street, unaware of their
location in the alley, they knew for sure they were in the clear. Fozzie sighed
in relief and showed his gratitude for the young man’s kindness. “Wow. Thanks,
pal. You did us a huge favor back
there.”
“Yeah, you really saved our skins and the hairs on them.” Gonzo added.
“I speak for all trillion of mine.” Bobo uttered.
The street urchin chuckled at the silliness in the
gratitude that was shown to him. “No problem. I outran those guys this morning.
You’d think the Sultan would hire better help these days.” He then extended his
hand to Sean and said, “Name’s Aladdin. And this is Abu.” He gestured to the
monkey on his shoulder, who screeched a happy greeting.
Sean, who was already familiar with the street urchin at
the moment he saw him, shook his hand before gesturing to himself and the
others. “I’m Sean and these are my friends Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Scooter,
Bobo, Bean, Robin, and Joie.”
Aladdin waved hello to the group, but he centered his
focus on one particular person within it – Jasmine. However, it was not the Jasmine who Aladdin was supposed
to have met, but rather an avatar of sorts. Approaching her, he said with an
enchanting whisper, “And who is this?”
Jasmine smiled at the way he was staring into
her/Ciciley’s eyes. “My name is Jas…”
“Ciciley!” Sean exclaimed, stepping right in between the
two, his tall frame blocking Jasmine from Aladdin’s sights. “She is my sister…and
she’s a little crazy.” He circled his finger around his ear for emphasis.
(Disney Note: Sean is using the same tactic and line that Aladdin used himself to fool the merchant that threatened to cut off Jasmine's hand for taking an apple in the film. The only difference here is that Ciciley - the woman whose face Jasmine possesses - really is Sean's sister and technically "out of her mind" from the swap.)
Listening to Sean, Jasmine grinned, clearly seeing how he
was trying to stick her with an identity that was not her own. Of course, after
the mishap with the palace guards, she knew it was probably for the best.
Still, Jasmine was quite enthralled with the young street urchin who they just
met. Aladdin’s bravery was unlike any the Princess of Agrabah had seen before.
“Well, it’s great to have met you all. You seem like
decent people. That’s why Abu and I helped get you out of that jam with the
apples we threw.” Aladdin stated, sharing a high-five with his monkey friend.
“Why did all of you try to get into
the palace anyway?”
Sean knew that he could not reveal too much to Aladdin,
so he made up the best lie he could think up. “Well, uh…we’re not from around
here. We figured it wouldn’t hurt asking for…directions?”
The others shook their heads in disgust – it was the worst lie anyone could ever make up.
“You’ve gotta be a total idiot to buy that one.” Scooter
whispered to Kermit, and the frog nodded heavily in agreement.
“Well, that makes sense to me.” Aladdin remarked,
surprising everyone – including Sean himself. “But you really shouldn’t be out
in the middle of this crazy storm. Abu and I have a place not very far from
here. You all can take shelter there.” Abu screeched his displeasure with
Aladdin’s offer, but Aladdin simply ignored all of it.
Sean masked gratefulness, doing his best to politely
refuse Aladdin’s offer. “Oh, well, I don’t think…”
“We would love
to.” Jasmine stepped around Sean, making herself visible to Aladdin as she
accepted the offer on behalf of everyone. She shot a dirty look to Sean, who
did not seem very pleased.
“Great! This will be a lot of fun!” Aladdin said with a
smile.
“Yeah,” Sean muttered, faking enthusiasm. “It’ll be a
real blast.”
(UP NEXT: A Kingdom Hearts Moment!)
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